Around Us

Published 1:00 pm, Thursday, May 26, 2011

IDALOU — Lubbock County Sheriff Kelly Rowe said Derek Ryan Hale, 26, is a person of interest in the death of his mother, Joanie Deeanne Parker, but he has not been named a suspect.

An elderly handyman found the 49-year-old woman’s body near a vacant house Tuesday afternoon on East CR 6200, just east of FM 400. Parker’s body had two gunshot wounds in the torso and one in the head.

The handyman told authorities he was working inside the house when he heard what sounded like shots fired. The handyman went outside and found the woman’s body in the yard next to the house as a maroon car driven by a white male left the scene. Authorities said Hale drives a 2005 maroon Hyundai Sonata.

Rowe said his office does not have a possible motive in the shooting. He was unaware of any violent past between Hale and his mother. Authorities also don’t know why Parker was at the house east of Idalou because she didn’t seem to have a connection to the site. Property owner Dan Foreman said he didn’t know Parker or Hale and doesn’t know why they were on his property.

The house is surrounded by farm fields and some trees. It has been used as a rental but has been vacant for about five months, Foreman said. — Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

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LUBBOCK — A Lubbock County jury on Wednesday decided Texas Tech should pay a former professor more than $500,000 for discriminating against him because he is deaf.

Michael L. Collier, Ph.D., a deaf, tenure-track assistant professor hired to teach American Sign Language and other courses relating to deaf culture, was abruptly dismissed in October 2006. The jury found Collier’s disability was directly related to his termination.

Bob Schmidt, one of Collier’s attorneys, said the damages and pay the jury awarded Collier made it clear it is not OK for the university to treat disabled professors like second-class citizens.

The jury found that Collier’s disability was a motivating factor in Tech’s decision not to reappoint him and that Tech would not have made that decision in the absence of his disability. They awarded Collier $47,651 in back pay, $100,000 in front pay and $400,000 in past compensatory damages.

“We’re disappointed and surprised by the verdict,” said Tech spokesman Chris Cook. “We didn’t think the facts merited a decision against Tech.”

Frederick Suppe, Ph.D., the language department chairman, never met personally with Collier nor expressed displeasure with his performance until he told Collier he would not be reappointed. University policy states that Tech will follow a “progressive disciplinary action program for employees, which begins with an ‘informal talk,’ and includes disciplinary counseling, letters of unsatisfactory work performance and suspension with or without pay.”

AMARILLO — About 20 businesses along a short stretch of Amarillo Boulevard were struck by burglars over a three-week period.

Amarillo Sgt. Brent Barbee said the crimes began about April 19 continued until about May 16, and mostly occurred between the 2200 and 3500 blocks of the Boulevard. No burglaries were reported the previous week, Barbee said.

La Rancherita grocery store was hit twice during the period. The second time burglars broke through a block wall where a door once stood, then escaped with a computer, beer, soft drinks, candy and food.

Police recovered much of the loot in a room at the Palo Duro Motel. It was returned to the business, officials said. No arrests were made. The person renting the room, Antoine Deshaun Williams, 39, told investigators he didn’t know how a dozen stolen cases of beer ended up in his room.

About 1:30 a.m. May 16, officers saw two men walking away from El Tequila Bar, Barbee said. One of the men was Williams. Upon investigation, officers found a hole in the roof of the bar.

Officers booked Williams and Jeremy Neal Holmes, 32, into the Potter County Detention Center, each on a charge of burglary of a building.

Barbee said it’s not clear that the same people were responsible for each incident. He said multiple methods were used to enter the buildings. In some cases, burglars cut holes in the walls, broke through doors or windows, entered through rooftops or removed air conditioners to enter. Stolen items included food, beverages, cash, cash registers, cigarettes, clothing, jewelry, televisions and computers. — Amarillo Globe-News